Field
The present invention relates generally to establishing a data connection between a user equipment and a wireless network.
Background
Generally, access to a wireless cellular system by a user device is based on a pre-arranged subscriber format. Access is typically not afforded to user devices who are not subscribers of the wireless cellular system or do not have the benefit of an existing relationship with the wireless cellular system.
However, an application service provider may want a user device to have access to its servers and services through the wireless cellular system notwithstanding the absence of a subscription for the wireless cellular system by the user device. The application service provider may be willing to compensate the wireless cellular system on behalf of the user device for this access. Such “sponsored connectivity” may allow the user device to utilize the wireless cellular network on a limited basis in order to connect to servers of the application service provider for a specific application, and the application service provider is charged for the access.
Existing solutions for sponsored connectivity include access point name (APN) based forwarding where a bearer is set up based on an APN configured in a subscriber identity module (SIM) provisioned by a sponsor, generic bootstrapping architecture only available to current subscribers equipped with SIM capability, and application based forwarding where traffic is filtered based on internet protocol (IP) addresses.
However, problems exist with the aforementioned existing solutions. For example, the user device may not be equipped with the operator's (e.g., wireless cellular system) credentials. For instance, the user device may lack a SIM or may not have a cellular subscription. In the case where IP address based filtering is used, sponsored connectivity may not be easily scaled for many different sponsors (e.g., application service providers), unauthorized/unauthenticated traffic may flow through the operator's core network, the service access network (e.g., gateways) may be prone to an overload attack, the application service provider may be charged for non-service related traffic (e.g., traffic caused by an attack), and no “first-mile” (e.g., access through evolved node B (eNB) and/or mobility management entity (MME)) defense (i.e., filtering) may be available.
Therefore, there is a need for improved methods, apparatuses, and systems for establishing sponsored connectivity that allow user devices to access an application service provider through a wireless network for which the user devices lack subscriptions.